The present invention relates to a method for servicing and maintaining heat supply equipment provided with a boiler or the like.
The heat supply equipment is provided with such equipment units as a water treatment unit, a fuel supply unit, and a wastewater treatment unit in addition to the boiler. A cogeneration system, which is one of the heat supply equipment, is provided with such units as an engine, a dynamo, and an exhaust heat recovery boiler. Usually, these units are serviced and maintained by different contractors. Accordingly, when an abnormality occurs in one of the units, a person in charge of managing the heat supply equipment needs to confirm which contractor is responsible for the unit, before making contact for requesting repair works. It takes labor as well as time to confirm the contractor, which elongates the halt period of the unit, resulting in considerable loss in production factories or the like.
The water treatment unit requires proper supply of consumables such as water treatment chemicals to be added to feedwater or salts to be used for a regeneration purpose in water softeners. However, if the person in charge of managing the heat supply equipment neglects supply management, the water treatment unit runs short of the chemicals and the salts, and as a result suffers from inability to function properly, thereby hindering operation of the heat supply equipment. Similarly, in the case of fuel supply of the fuel supply unit, negligence of fuel supply management causes shortage of fuel, which disables operation of the heat supply equipment. In operation of the heat supply equipment, therefore, supply management of the consumables and the fuel is quite important.
It is an object of the present invention to implement secure and prompt servicing and maintenance in heat supply equipment provided with a plurality of maintenance object units, as well as to decrease a burden on a person in charge of managing the heat supply equipment.
In order to achieve the above object, in a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for servicing and maintaining heat supply equipment based on a servicing and maintenance contract to perform specified servicing and maintenance of a maintenance object unit in heat supply equipment, which includes making a supervisory center for mediating request information from the heat supply equipment communicatable with the heat supply equipment via communication means, while making the supervisory center communicatable with service suppliers who perform the servicing and maintenance works via the communication means, the method comprising the steps of: receiving request information automatically transmitted from the heat supply equipment in the supervisory center; determining necessary servicing and maintenance works based on the request information received; selecting service suppliers who can perform the servicing and maintenance works; transmitting necessary information from the supervisory center to the service suppliers; and instructing the service suppliers to take measures based on the transmitted information.
In a second aspect of the invention, there are provided a plurality of the maintenance object units, and the service suppliers are set for each of the maintenance object units.
Next, embodiments of the present invention are described. Maintenance object units in the heat supply equipment in the present invention include a boiler, a water treatment unit, a fuel supply unit, and a wastewater treatment unit. The boiler includes diverse types of boilers such as steam boilers, hot-water boilers, and heating medium boilers. The maintenance object units also include a unit to supply heat and cold, such as cooling and heating machines. In the case where the heat supply equipment is a cogeneration system, the maintenance object units include an engine, a dynamo, and an exhaust heat recovery boiler.
In implementing servicing and maintenance of the heat supply equipment, first a servicing and maintenance contract is made between an owner of the heat supply equipment or a user thereof (hereinafter referred to as a xe2x80x9ccontractantxe2x80x9d) and a maintenance personnel. The servicing and maintenance contract defines that specified servicing and maintenance shall be given to each of the maintenance object units. For fulfilling the contents of the servicing and maintenance contract, the maintenance personnel installs a supervisory center which mediates request information from the heat supply equipment.
The supervisory center and the heat supply equipment can communicate with each other via a communication means. More particularly, a computer of the supervisory center and a computer of the heat supply equipment are linked so as to enable communication thereamong via the communication means. The computer of the heat supply equipment herein refers to either an individual computer of each maintenance object unit or a computer unifying the maintenance object units. The supervisory center can be installed in a remote place away from the heat supply equipment for a specified distance, or installed inside the heat supply equipment or in the vicinity thereof.
In addition, the supervisory center and a service supplier who performs the servicing and maintenance can communicate via a communication means. More particularly, a computer of the supervisory center and a computer of the service supplier are linked so as to enable communication thereamong via the communication means. The service supplier is set to each of the maintenance object units. The service supplier can be either a servicing department of a company to which the supervisory center belongs or can be another company.
Communication is implemented with use of a public telephone line or a dedicated line, which can be wired or wireless.
In the above constitution, once request information is automatically transmitted from the heat supply equipment, the supervisory center receives the request information. Based on the received request information, the supervisory center determines necessary servicing and maintenance works, and selects a service supplier who can perform the servicing and maintenance works. Then, the supervisory center transmits necessary information to the service supplier, and instructs the service supplier to take measures based on the transmitted information.
Determining the servicing and maintenance works and selecting the service supplier can be implemented automatically by the computer of the supervisory center or by a staff member of the supervisory center. In the case of automatic implementation, the computer of the supervisory center can transfer received request information as it is to the service supplier, or can transmit information for instructing to take measures based on the received request information to the service supplier. When the information is transmitted to the service supplier, detailed information necessary for performing servicing and maintenance works is transmitted together.
The request information includes abnormalities recovery request information transmitted when an abnormality occurs in any of the maintenance object units. In addition to the abnormalities recovery request information, the water treatment unit, for example, transmits information for requesting supply of water treatment consumables such as water treatment chemicals to be added to feedwater or salts to be used for a regeneration purpose in water softeners. Upon reception of the information, the supervisory center transfers the information to the service supplier that is, in this case, a water treatment company. The water treatment company dispatches or delivers the water treatment consumables. In the case of receiving information for requesting fuel supply to the fuel supply unit as the request information, the information is transferred to the service supplier that is in this case, a fuel supply company. The fuel supply company incorporates the fuel supply to the fuel supply unit into a tanker delivery schedule. This ensures supply management of water treatment consumables, fuel, and the like, which prevents operation halt of the heat supply equipment, and decreases a burden on a person in charge of managing the heat supply equipment.
Further, according to the above-stated constitution, in the case where a different service supplier is set to each of the maintenance object units like the case of the cogeneration system, the supervisory center can determine the contents of request information from each of the maintenance object units, and can transfer request information to each of the service suppliers. This saves labor of a person in charge of managing the heat supply equipment to confirm a service supplier in charge, and eliminates delay of report, thereby enabling prompt response to request information.
In the case where the service supplier is a company different from the company to which the supervisory center belongs, the supervisory center concludes a information mediation contract with the service supplier, to charge and collect fees on information transmittance to the service supplier. This means that the supervisory center does a business of information mediation.
According to the above constitution, as described above, in the heat supply equipment provided with a plurality of the maintenance object units, secure and prompt servicing and management, as well as considerable decrease in a burden on a person in charge of managing the heat supply equipment are implemented.
In the case where a different service supplier is set to each of the maintenance object units, it is in general necessary to establish a system to receive request information per maintenance object unit. According to the above constitution, however, installing the supervisory center which collectively conducts information mediation makes it possible to simplify the system and to eliminate necessity for the service supplier to own his own system. It can be said, therefore, that the above-stated constitution brings about large advantages to the service supplier too.